How to go from boutique to BB
Hi all,
Recently I managed to convert my internship in a tech M&A boutique into a full time analyst role. Before this I was an analyst in a back office finance role with a top BB in eastern Europe, but I was always gunning for a front office job. While I am incredibly happy I finally work in M&A in a front office role, I want to end up with a top BB in London or NYC (I am currently in Germany but not in Frankfurt). I don't have a master's degree, only a bachelor's from my home country (eastern Europe). I also don't speak German.
My boutique does a decent amount of deals (albeit quite small - sub 30m EUR), and analysts get a lot of exposure as there are no associates and they work closely with seniors across all parts of the deal, so the experience should be good, I hope.
The thing is I want a long-term banking career so my goal is to end up with a top BB or EB in a finance city like London or NYC. How should I go about this? I know that without a top brand name recruiters from large firms won't contact me on their own, and I would like to avoid taking up a lot of debt for a top school, at least at this time. What are my options? Should I start contacting people on linkedin after a year here, or contact headhunting firms? Is there a chance to go from a no-name boutique directly to a BB, or is it more plausible to move to a good MM firm like William Blair or RBC and then to a BB? Will not having a top Master or MBA degree hinder my chances, or will recruiters not care about the degree if I have good deal experience?
I would appreciate any kind of advice that could put me on a right path. WSO helped me tremendously in moving from the back office to the front office, and I hope it can help me in the same way in getting to a top BB. Thank you very much in advance!
Interested too
Also interested in lateraling from no-name boutique - especially changing locations
Bump
If you do not have a masters I’d consider the masters route, if you do I’d move to an MM shop, possibly TMT focused such as Arma partners or with a good TMT Team (WB, Jefferies) before moving to a BB.
Do you think a masters is important for this - what about lateralling directly without a master?
In case a masters is an absolute necessity, how long should I be in this analyst position before applying? I presume only top master's like Bocconi, LBS and HEC make sense, right?
A master would allow to directly move to a BB. Apply to masters ASAP, 1 year is enough, don’t do more than 2 years because afterwise it wouldn’t make sense to go back to Analyst roles as an associate.
Interested as well. In the same situation, but I'm in Australia.
Why ANYONE would want to work at a BB these days is beyond me. Boutiques are where the action is. Of course you do NOT want to go to a boutique that's doing 30 million dollar M&A and scrapping for survival w MDs that can't win "real business". Go somewhere where the founders know what they are doing and can teach you a lot about the business and where pay is above average. The learning will be invaluable and money great. Bulge is just pitch after pitch after pitch. Boring analysis on deals and no consistency of responsibility. Carrying the books, not attending meetings and the like. You need an adult job, not a kid's job.
Deleted
I'd want to work a a BB for the name recognition and optionality a few years down the road. While my boutique closes deals on a consistent basis (albeit in the 30m EUR EV range), it is not well known globally and exit opportunities are limited. In any case, what would you advise on how to move from a no name boutique to a better, more well-known boutique, one that is such as you described?
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